# Terrarium and bioactive vivarium animals

Reviewed 2026-10-16. 120 entries across 36 groups, with 99 references. Open animals.html for search and filters. Mosses and animals share mosses.sqlite, while their exports and source tables are separate.

## What the list means

This is an extensive representative selection reference, not an exhaustive global fauna, a complete care manual, a pet ranking or a recommendation to combine the entries. Records include species, a subspecies, complexes, unresolved trade cultures and broader groups; these are not all verified species. Color morphs do not inflate the species count.

The word bioactive describes a managed substrate/food web. It does not establish a common climate, eliminate waste removal or make every decomposer safe with every inhabitant. No entry is recommended for a permanently sealed moss jar. All display animals need an enclosure designed around their own requirements.

## Roles and practical use

- **Cleanup candidates:** selected springtails and commonly used isopods may help process organic material in compatible conditions. They need food and refuges; they do not sterilize the enclosure or replace cleaning. The cleanup view is a shortlist for investigation, not a compatibility approval.
- **Display colonies and detritivores:** ornamental isopods and millipedes can be the main inhabitants. Millipedes need deep edible decomposed leaf/wood substrate and protected molts. A plain coir or moss layer is not a complete diet. Isopod/millipede cohabitation advice differs among keepers; this reference conservatively does not recommend it by default.
- **Amphibians and reptiles:** purpose-built display habitats must establish species-specific space, thermal/light gradients, ventilation, food and supplementation before animals arrive. Adult land requirements and aquatic larval requirements are separate. A beautiful planted enclosure is not evidence of complete animal care.
- **Predatory arthropods:** mantises, spiders, scorpions and centipedes are display predators. They can eat other animals and are not decomposer crews. Solitary housing is a conservative planning default; it is not a claim that every species lacks social behavior.
- **Herbivores:** land snails and phasmids may consume the living planting. Stick and leaf insects need accepted pesticide-free host foliage, safe hanging space and management of eggs/offspring.
- **Cultures and controls:** worms, roaches, feeder crickets and ants require their own management and containment. Predatory mites and rove beetles are targeted biological-control comparisons. Greenhouse evidence does not establish safety for all terrarium cleanup fauna.
- **Habitat comparisons:** dry-region beetles, leopard geckos and bearded dragons illustrate that a bioactive enclosure can be dry. Newts and vampire crabs require aquatic/paludarium planning; an aquarium, a land-dominant paludarium and a humid terrestrial vivarium are distinct systems.

## Evidence and unknown values

Every animal has source links and a source_scope field. Some references support a named species or keeper culture; others support only the group, taxonomy or trade occurrence. Group-level evidence must not be treated as a verified species protocol. Identity notes preserve uncertain names and older taxonomy. Review dates describe this research, not the date the source was published or a guarantee it is current.

Shared profiles and the selection and plant-impact notes are qualitative planning synthesis. Individually reviewed facts are stored separately in animal_facts with exact source and section citations. Published numerical values retain their life stage, units, measurement location and context: basking surfaces, hide temperatures and ambient air are not interchangeable. No live-animal trial was conducted. A moist-substrate area percentage is not air relative humidity.

Each record shows evidence_status, documented core care topics, planning_gaps and source review notes. Species/culture facts may cover only one topic; they do not certify a complete care protocol. An empty topic means unreviewed, not unnecessary. When a detailed chapter differs from an older summary, the display decision is recorded in animal_evidence_issues; do not average conflicting ranges. The comparison tool preserves contexts and gaps and does not approve mixed-species housing.

The humid_moss_display_fit field distinguishes Conditional, Dedicated display, Dry habitat only, Paludarium only, Aquatic system, Large habitat only, Culture only and Targeted control only. Conditional still requires a reviewed enclosure plan. It never means safe to mix with all other entries. The cleanup_crew_candidate flag is a research shortlist, not a certification of compatibility.

## Acquisition, health and maintenance

Record exact scientific/trade label, source, locality/line where relevant, acquisition date and identity uncertainty. Prefer lawful captive-bred stock; verify local possession, transport and release restrictions for the actual taxon before acquiring it. This reference does not provide jurisdiction-specific legal findings.

Use appropriate quarantine and clean equipment for new animals. Do not transfer soil, water or animals casually between amphibian enclosures. Use animal-safe plants and substrates with known pesticide history; a plant fertilizer or moss treatment is not automatically suitable for animals. A closed ecosystem claim does not remove the need for drinking water, food, waste management or inspection.

Never release animals, eggs, feeder insects, substrate or wastewater into natural habitats. Venomous predators and animals with defensive secretions need a species-appropriate secure maintenance method; do not handle them for display. No conservation, disease-free or ethically sourced status is implied by a seller listing.

## Files and schema

- animals.html: searchable offline reader; reference links need internet.
- animals.json: metadata, records, sources and shared profiles.
- animals.csv: flat UTF-8 export; source IDs are separated by semicolons.
- animal_sources.csv and animal_profiles.csv: supporting exports.
- mosses.sqlite: animals, animal_sources, animal_profiles, animal_record_sources, animal_facts, animal_evidence_issues, animal_aliases and animal_coverage alongside the moss and plant tables.
- animal_facts.csv and animal_evidence_issues.csv: field-level evidence and disagreement decisions.
- animal_coverage.csv and ANIMAL_COVERAGE.md: represented groups and explicit research gaps; no preset record total.
- animal_quality_audit.ipynb: inspectable SQLite quality queries.
- animal_validation.json: saved counts, integrity and scope checks.
- No animal photographs have been added. Moss photos and credits remain unchanged.

## SQL examples

```sql
-- Group coverage; entries are not necessarily distinct identified species.
SELECT * FROM animal_group_counts ORDER BY animal_group;

-- Investigate possible cleanup cultures; assess the actual enclosure separately.
SELECT scientific_name, common_name, habitat, diet, source_scope
FROM cleanup_crew_candidates ORDER BY animal_group, scientific_name;

-- Find dart frogs and their housing/food requirements.
SELECT scientific_name, diet, enclosure, grouping_and_cohabitation
FROM animals WHERE animal_group = 'Dart frogs';

-- Distinguish dry bioactive habitats from a wet mossarium.
SELECT scientific_name, moisture_and_ventilation FROM dry_habitat_comparisons;

-- Follow the sources for a particular animal.
SELECT a.common_name, s.title, s.url, s.scope
FROM animals a
JOIN animal_record_sources rs USING(animal_id)
JOIN animal_sources s USING(source_id)
WHERE a.animal_id = 'A001';
```

## Coverage

- Ants: 1 entries.
- Beetles: 4 entries.
- Booklice and barklice: 1 entries.
- Centipedes: 1 entries.
- Cockroaches: 4 entries.
- Dart frogs: 12 entries.
- Earthworms: 2 entries.
- Feeder insects: 6 entries.
- Fire-bellied toads: 1 entries.
- Harvestmen: 1 entries.
- Horned frogs: 1 entries.
- Isopods: 21 entries.
- Jumping spiders: 1 entries.
- Land crabs: 2 entries.
- Land snails: 2 entries.
- Lizards: 13 entries.
- Mantellas: 2 entries.
- Mantises: 3 entries.
- Millipedes: 8 entries.
- Mossy frogs: 1 entries.
- Newts: 1 entries.
- Predatory mites: 1 entries.
- Pseudoscorpions: 1 entries.
- Salamanders: 2 entries.
- Scorpions: 3 entries.
- Snakes: 3 entries.
- Springtails: 5 entries.
- Stick and leaf insects: 3 entries.
- Tailless whip spiders: 1 entries.
- Tarantulas: 5 entries.
- Terrestrial amphipods: 1 entries.
- Tomato frogs: 1 entries.
- Tortoises: 2 entries.
- Tree frogs: 2 entries.
- Turtles: 1 entries.
- Vinegaroons: 1 entries.

## Rebuild

Run python3 build_animals.py to refresh only the animal reference inside an existing moss database. It replaces only its own reference tables/views and leaves moss data, photos and personal logs in place. Run python3 build_database.py for the full reference package; that generator refuses to overwrite nonempty personal collection logs or unknown tables. Keep personal database backups before any full rebuild. The ZIP contains the generator scripts and curated data modules.